Messaging Personalization

ABSTRACT

Participants in a communication are rendered by determining whether each entry in a list of participants in the communication satisfies criteria specified by a user participating in the communication. The criteria are used to identify a first subset of participants that is to be rendered in a first style that differentiates the first subset from remaining participants in the list. The first subset of participants is formatted in the first style.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of copending U.S. utility applicationentitled, “Messaging Personalization,” having Ser. No. 12/342,395, filedDec. 23, 2008, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is generally related to electronic messaging and,more particularly, is related to rendering of messaging participants.

Electronic messaging, such as e-mail, is routinely used for bothpersonal and corporate communication. When receiving an e-mail messageaddressed to a group of recipients, a recipient often has only limitedinformation about the identity of other recipients to which the messageis addressed. For example, the recipient may not be aware of theplacement of a fellow recipient within an organizational hierarchy or ofthe existence of fellow team members among a list of recipients. Theproblem is made worse by having a large number of recipients to whichthe message is addressed making it cumbersome to scan all of the namesof the intended recipients.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods ofrendering participants in a communication. One embodiment of such asystem comprises a computing device executing messaging engineinstructions configuring the device to determine whether each entry in alist of participants in the communication satisfies criteria specifiedby a user participating in the communication. The criteria are used toidentify a first subset of participants that are to be rendered in afirst style that differentiates the first subset from remainingparticipants in the list. The computing device is configured to formatthe first subset of participants in the first style.

One embodiment of a method of rendering participants in a communicationcan be broadly summarized as follows: determining whether each entry ina list of participants in the communication satisfies criteria specifiedby a user participating in the communication, where the criteria is usedto identify a first subset of participants that are to be rendered in afirst style that differentiates the first subset from remainingparticipants in the list; and formatting the first subset ofparticipants in the first style.

Other systems, methods, devices, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description and be within the scopeof the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment in which one embodiment of asystem and method for displaying or rendering electronic messages isimplemented.

FIGS. 2-3 are block diagrams of the environment of FIG. 1 showingpossible communication paths within the environment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the directorydatabase from FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A is a diagram of a SMTP e-mail message, showing its constituentparts in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a diagram of a modified SMTP e-mail message utilizing adescriptive tag in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 6-10 are diagram representations of a messaging client interfacedisplaying an e-mail message in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a diagram representation of a messaging client interface thatmay be used to configure criteria to be used to distinguish entries in arecipient list for an e-mail message in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a diagram representation of a messaging client interface thatallows a user to define subgroups of recipients to be differentiated orhighlighted within a window displaying a received e-mail message inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a process to determine whichvisual cue(s) to use when displaying addresses in a messaging clientinterface in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a diagram representing a process for differentiatingparticipants in a teleconference in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a process to determine whichaudible cue(s) to use when announcing a subset of participants in aconference call in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 16 is a diagram representing a process for differentiatingparticipants in an electronic chat exchange in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a process to determine whichvisual cue(s) to use when displaying a list of participants in a chatsession.

FIG. 18 is a hardware block diagram of a general-purpose computer whichcan be used to implement various embodiments of a personalization enginein accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment in which one embodiment of asystem and method for displaying or rendering electronic messages isimplemented. In an exemplary embodiment, among others, two messagingservers (110A and 110B) and two messaging clients (120A, 120B)communicate over a network 130. However, an exemplary environment mayhave more or less than two messaging servers and/or messaging clients.The messaging server(s) and/or messaging client(s) may encompass avariety of communication modes and devices, including e-mail, instantmessaging, chat, teleconference, smartphones, IPTV (Internet protocoltelevision), web applications, etc.

The messaging server 110A provides electronic mail (e-mail) servicesand/or other messaging services to the messaging client 120A, allowingthe client 120B to send e-mail messages to, and receive e-mail messagesfrom, other messaging clients. This includes intra-domain messaging andinter-domain messaging. The messaging server 110B provides similare-mail services to the messaging client 120B. Messaging servers 110A,110B and messaging clients 120A, 120B are not limited to performinge-mail communications and may utilize other messaging forms, includinganalog and digital mediums.

A directory database 160 may reside in a messaging server (e.g., server110B) (as represented by paths 240A,B in FIG. 2) or in a messagingclient (e.g., client 120A1) (as represented by paths 340A,B in FIG. 3).The directory database 160 is also known as an enterprise database or anemployee database, in some contexts. For example, some companiesmaintain internal directories which can only be accessed by employees.Such directories provide a telephone number, FAX number, e-mail address,and mailing address of certain individuals associated with the company,among other information such as company organizational information andthe individual's work location and room number.

In some embodiments, a messaging server 110B can be utilized to retrieverecipient information from the directory database 160. For example, thedirectory database 160 may contain information on an employee, such asthe employee's job title, job location, department, rank, etc. Giventhat most corporations have an employee directory that communicationssuch as e-mail and conference bridges tap into, these directorydatabases can be leveraged to determine who is on a recipient list forrespective messaging media and highlight names in the list according topredefined criteria or criteria specified by a user before making aquery. Therefore, the message can be personalized according to usercriteria. So when a user gets an e-mail with 500 people copied on thee-mail, on the user's side of the messaging client, the user can clearlysee who from his or her team is included in the recipient list and canidentify members of the user's chain of command that are on the list.With this information, the user can make judgments on the appropriateactions for handling the received e-mail (such as whether he or sheneeds to forward the e-mail message to someone else). Similaridentifications and demarcations may also be made for other messagingmediums, such as those involving a conference bridge or chatcommunications, as discussed hereinafter.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the directorydatabase 160. Exemplary directory database 160 includes fields forusername or user ID (410), e-mail address (415), personal name (420),department (425), position or job title (430), job grade or rank (435),and job or office location (440). The directory database 160 may alsoinclude any number of member records. According to an exemplaryembodiment, the directory database 160 includes three record entries:entry 460; entry 470; and entry 480.

A recipient query of the directory database 160 to obtain additionalinformation may include the e-mail address 415 for an entry in therecipient list, and returns a result of the query, such as a department425 to which the user associated with the e-mail address belongs.

Delivery of intra-domain e-mail messages can be accomplished with asingle messaging server—the messaging server for the domain. Messagingservers may communicate with each other to deliver inter-domain e-mailmessages. For example, an e-mail message from the messaging client 120Ato the messaging client 120B is accomplished as follow. The e-mailmessage is communicated first from the messaging client 120A to thelocal messaging server (the messaging server 110A), then to the remotemessaging server (the messaging server 110B), then to the recipient (themessaging client 120B), as shown by paths 310, 320, and 330 in FIGS.2-3. According to exemplary embodiments, SMTP (Simple Mail TransferProtocol) is used for communication between messaging servers, and POP(Post Office Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Mail Access Protocol) is usedfor communication between messaging clients and a messaging server.However, a person of ordinary skill in the art should understand thatthe principles described herein are applicable to other e-mail protocolsas well.

Referring to FIG. 4, in an exemplary embodiment, when an e-mail messageis received by a messaging server 110B servicing a particular recipient,the messaging server 110B taps into a directory database 160 and basedon user criteria, reworks the e-mail message by adding formatting forhighlighting or distinguishing either visually or audibly when rendered,certain names in a recipient list of the e-mail message based on therecipient's criteria settings. For example, the recipient may havesettings stipulating that a received e-mail message should highlight ina particular and distinct color his or her team members and supervisorsso that they are easily distinguishable from other names included in arecipient list of the e-mail message when displayed in a messagingclient 120B.

Therefore, the messaging server 110B looks up, pursuant to therecipient's criteria, instructions on reworking the e-mail messagebefore the e-mail message is then relayed to a recipient's mailbox atthe server 110B. In an alternative embodiment, an e-mail message may bedisplayed at a messaging client 120B, where a user activates an optionfor distinguishing a subset of names in the message's recipient listwhich causes the messaging client to rework the e-mail message inaccordance with a user's criteria instructions.

FIG. 5A is a diagram of a SMTP e-mail message, showing its constituentparts. A message 500 may include routing information 510, a senderaddress 520, a list of recipient addresses 525, and a text body 540. TheSMTP message format uses a comma to separate recipients in a list, butother variations are possible.

The recipient addresses 525 can be categorized as a direct recipient(530TO), a carbon-copy recipient (530CC), or a blind-carbon-copyrecipient (not shown). Each message has at least one recipient (direct,carbon-copy or blind-carbon-copy); additional recipients are optional.As used herein, the term “recipient” applies to direct, carbon-copy andblind-carbon-copy recipients.

Both the sender address 520 and the recipient address 525 share a commonaddress format, which includes a username (550) and a domain name (560).In the SMTP message format, the symbol “@” separates the username 550and the domain name 560, but other separators are possible, as are otherorderings of address components.

When a messaging server 110B reworks an e-mail message to containformatting for highlighting an entry in a recipient list, one embodimentof the present disclosure utilizes encoded words in message headerswhich may be a sequence of printable ASCII characters that begins with“=?”, ends with “?=”, and has two “?”s in between, as generallydescribed in RFC 2047. Therefore, a unique character set may be added tonext to an entry in the recipient list to “highlight” and distinguishthe entry from others not having the special character set. Also, adescriptive tag may be added to an entry's descriptive name todistinguish the name from others and/or indicate to the messaging clientthat the name should be highlighted a certain color when displayed. Forexample, in FIG. 5B, a descriptive name for an entry in the recipientlist is contained within quotes, as indicated by bracket 580 where “AdamSmith, President” is the descriptive name attached to the e-mail addressadam.smith@foo.com. To illustrate one approach to utilizing adescriptive tag, the descriptive name for “Tim Bracey, Tax Dept.” inFIG. 5B has been modified to state “Tim Bracey, Tax Dept. **RED**”.Therefore, the tag **RED** may be added to an e-mail message to indicatethat the entry for Tim Bracey should be displayed in the color red by amessaging client 120. These are but a few examples and are not meant tobe limiting. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand thatthere are a multitude of ways of distinguishing entries in a recipientor participant list.

Using a messaging client, such as the messaging client 120A, a user canview the received e-mail messages 500 and compose e-mail messages forsending. As disclosed herein, a messaging client, such as the messagingclient 120A, may use different visual or audible cues (or other sensorycues) when displaying the recipient addresses 525, so that recipientssatisfying certain criteria can be distinguished visually fromrecipients that do not satisfy the criteria. For example, a user canspecify what criteria is to be met before a name in the recipient listis highlighted or differentiated from the rest of the entries in thelist. For example, differentiation between names of fellow team membersincluded in the recipient list of a recipient that has received themessage and names identified in the recipient list who are not teammembers of the recipient of the message can use different fonts or fontattributes, or icons, or position within the recipient list. Theclassification into different subsets or hierarchies within a recipientlist can be based on recipient address, or on associated informationabout the recipient that is receiving the message and other intendedrecipients that is available to a messaging server, such as server 110Bor a messaging client 120B.

Several examples of visual cues for participant differentiation will bedescribed next, while examples of criteria will be discussed in furtherdetail in connection with FIGS. 6, 7, and 8. FIGS. 6, 7, and 8illustrate several embodiments of an e-mail message window presented bya messaging client 120B. In each figure, a window displays a singlee-mail message. The window 600 includes a recipient address list portion610, and a body portion 620. As can be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, amessaging client 120B, typically presents an e-mail message in auser-friendly format, so there is typically not a one-to-onecorrespondence between the actual message in SMTP format (500) and themessage as displayed. For example, the window 600 does not show includerouting information 510. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, all of therecipient addresses are displayed in the same manner where one addressis not intended to be displayed in a distinguishable fashion from theother. The differentiation feature has not been activated in the window600 of FIG. 6.

Next, in the embodiment of FIG. 7, a subset of recipient addresses(710A) is displayed with one visual appearance, while another subset ofrecipient addresses (710B) has another visual appearance. Here, thedifferentiation feature has been activated.

In this example, the visual appearance of the first subset 710A ofaddresses includes a bold font as a form of highlighting, and the visualappearance of the second subset 7108 of addresses is a non-bold format.Visual appearance may include a number of options, including, but notlimited to, font, font size, font color, font attribute (e.g.,underline, italics, bold), and background color. A person of ordinaryskill in the art should recognize that these and other options can beused in various combinations to achieve different visual appearances.

The embodiment of FIG. 7 also uses position as a visual cue: a subset ofaddresses (710A) that satisfy certain criteria appear before anothersubset of addresses (710B) that does not satisfy the criteria in thelist of addresses. This ordering is particularly useful in a relativelylong list when a user must scroll down to see the list members at theend of the list, as is the case in FIG. 6. Although the embodiment ofFIG. 7 uses two visual cues (appearance and list position) todifferentiate subsets of addresses, another embodiment (see FIGS. 8-10)uses the visual appearance cue without the list position cue, and yetanother embodiment (not shown) may use the list position cue without thevisual appearance cue.

In one embodiment, a user can configure his or her messaging client tohighlight peers, team members, and supervisors in a received message.This may be a standard configuration for the user. For example, FIG. 11shows an exemplary embodiment of a user interface that may be used toconfigure criteria to be used to distinguish entries in a recipient listfor an e-mail message. In the example shown, a user may select the boxescorresponding to criteria that the user would like to activate. Forexample, the user may select to show participants or names in arecipient list that belong to the same team as the user by selectingoption 1110. Further, the user may select to show participants or namesin a recipient list that are above the user on an organizational chartor hierarchy by selecting option 1120. These may correspond to otherpersons who have a higher job grade 435 than the user, as a non-limitingexample. The user may also select to show participants or names in arecipient list that are below the user on an organizational chart orhierarchy by selecting option 1130. To later alter the configuration ofcriteria, the user may select or deselect the options provided in theinterface 1100. After selection of the criteria by the user, thecriteria is stored by messaging server 110B in one embodiment and usedto differentiate names in the recipient list of received e-mail inaccordance with the defined criteria before delivering e-mail to therecipient being serviced by the server 110B.

Additionally, in some embodiments, a button may exist on an interface tothe messaging client 120B to activate the highlighting of names in therecipient list after a message is received by the recipient.Accordingly, there may be configurable options for defining the criteriathat is used to differentiate names in the recipient list.

As an example, FIG. 12 shows a user interface 1200 of a messagingclient, such as an e-mail client, for displaying messages of a user. Theuser interface 1200 includes a configuration window 1210 that allows auser to define subgroups of recipients to be differentiated orhighlighted within a window displaying a received e-mail message. In theexample shown, a user can configure interface buttons (C1, C2, C3) 1225to activate which subgroup of recipients is to be highlighted. Forinstance, using a dropdown box 1220, the user can specify that names inthe recipient list that belong to the legal department should behighlighted when button C1 is activated (e.g., clicked on using a mousecontrol). To change the criteria from the legal department to anotherattribute, a different selection from the dropdown box may be selected.For example, for button C2, a different selection has been chosen. Here,the attribute of a particular job grade has been selected (GS7).Further, the “greater than” sign has been selected in box 1240 toindicate that names associated with job grades greater than GS7 shouldbe highlighted in the recipient list. If names associated with jobgrades having GS7 was desired, than box 1240 could have been selected tobe an “equals” sign, similarly to box 1250 and 1260. If names associatedwith job grades less than GS7, than a “less than” sign could have beenselected. Correspondingly, button C3 has been configured so that theinterface 1200 highlights names having a job location or office in thecity of Atlanta in the recipient list of a received e-mail message whenthis button is activated.

To illustrate, FIG. 6 shows an e-mail message being displayed in aninterface of a messaging client. In this example, none of the buttonsC1, C2, or C3 have been activated. Therefore, the feature ofhighlighting any of the names in the recipient list according to usercriteria has not been activated.

In contrast, FIG. 7 shows an e-mail message being displayed in aninterface of a messaging client, where button C1 has been activated. Asdescribed above, when button C1 is selected, names in the recipient listof a received e-mail being displayed in the client window arehighlighted when the names belong to someone in the legal department. Inthis particular example, the highlighted names 710A (belonging to thelegal department) are shown in a bold font and positioned at thebeginning of the TO: or CC: fields of the recipient list. The remainingnames 710B are shown in a different visual font.

In another embodiment, FIG. 8 also shows an e-mail message beingdisplayed where the button C1 has been activated. However, in thisexample, the visual appearance of the highlighted names does not changepositions within the recipient list. The visual appearance of the subsetof the names being highlighted are shown in a bold font however, wherethe subset of names not being highlighted are not shown in a bold font.

Next, FIG. 9 shows an e-mail message being displayed in an interface 900of a messaging client, where button C2 has been activated. As describedabove, when button C2 is selected, names in the recipient list of areceived e-mail being displayed in the client window are highlightedwhen the names belong to someone having a job grade or rank higher thanGS7. In this particular example, the highlighted names are shown in abold font of the recipient list. The remaining names are shown in adifferent visual font or style.

FIG. 10 shows an e-mail message being displayed in an interface 1000 ofa messaging client, where button C2 has been activated. As describedabove, when button C3 1225 is selected, names in the recipient list of areceived e-mail being displayed in the client window are highlightedwhen the names belong to someone located in Atlanta. In this particularexample, the highlighted names are shown in a bold font of the recipientlist. The remaining names are shown in a different visual font (e.g.,non-bold or a different color).

In some embodiments, more than one button may be activated at a time.For example, buttons C1 and C2 could both be activated at the same time.In such an example, names satisfied with criteria associated with C1could be displayed in one visual appearance on a window of the messagingclient 1208, names satisfied with criteria associated with C2 could bedisplayed in a different visual appearance on a window of the messagingclient 1208, and the remaining names displayed in another visualappearance. Further, a user may be provided an interface for designatinghow names should be displayed for one subset of names as opposed toanother subset of names (e.g., select different colors or font types).Such tools for distinguishing entries in a recipient list arecontemplated but not shown in the accompanying drawings due tolimitations of the drawings not being in color.

In a corporate environment, particularly for a large corporation,members of the corporation often interact by e-mail because there are somany different groups and projects in existence and often information issubmitted from top down and bottom up in a corporate hierarchy. Quitefrequently, a corporation member may need to know whether some of his orher team members have already been copied on an e-mail or whether asupervisor was included in the recipient list or the supervisor'ssupervisor so that the recipient can make an action decision forhandling or disposing of that e-mail accordingly. If a recipientreceives an e-mail that he or she thinks is important for team membersto see and it is able to easily distinguish whether other team membershave already been copied on the e-mail, then the recipient does not haveto pass it along. Otherwise, if the recipient can easily see that one ortwo team members did not receive the e-mail, then he or she can takeaction of sending that information along. As previously explained, whenthere are many names listed in an e-mail, it is difficult to glancethrough all those names to see who from the recipient's hierarchy, teammembers, peers, supervisors, was included on the e-mail using earliersystems.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a process 1300 which amessaging client 120B, such as an e-mail client, uses to determine whichvisual cue to use when displaying addresses in a window, such as window600. This embodiment uses the directory database 160, which may residein a messaging client 120B, such as an e-mail client, or may reside in amessaging server 110B, such as an e-mail server.

The process starts at block 1310, which begins an iteration loop appliedfor each entry in the recipient list (525 in FIG. 5A) of the message tobe displayed. At block 1320, the directory database 160 is queried forinformation associated with the current entry in the recipient list froma directory database 160. The information associated with the currententry is compared (block 1330) with specified criteria to be met forhighlighting entries in the recipient list.

If the current entry matches criteria (e.g., having an office inAtlanta) indicated by a user for highlighting the entry in the recipientlist, block 1340 displays the name associated with the current entrywith a visual cue in the recipient list that is associated with thecriteria (e.g., use italics font to indicate that the entry is for aperson located in Atlanta). If the current entry does not match criteriaindicated by a user for highlighting the entry in the recipient list,block 1350 displays the name associated with the entry withouthighlighting. In the matching operation, a messaging server and/orclient may determine whether each entry in a list of participants in thecommunication matches or satisfies criteria specified by a userparticipating in the communication. The criteria are used to identify afirst subset of participants that are to be rendered in a first stylethat differentiates the first subset from remaining participants in thelist. The computing device may be configured to format the first subsetof participants in the first style, in some embodiments. The criteriamay further identify a second subset of participants that are to berendered in a second style that differentiates the subset from the firstsubset and remaining participants in the list, where the messagingserver and/or client is further configured to format the second subsetof participants in the second style.

In one embodiment, different font colors are used to distinguishrecipients of different subsets (e.g., green for a first subset, orangefor a second subset, red for a third subset, etc.). In anotherembodiment, other font characteristics such as bold and italic are usedto distinguish between varying subsets (e.g., normal for a first subset,italics for a second subset, bold for a third subset). In yet anotherembodiment, both font color and normal/bold/italic characteristics areused to distinguish between different subsets.

Also, a visual cue for distinguishing a subset of addresses may comprisean icon displayed after each address in the subset. Further, aspreviously addressed, recipients may also be identified with anothervisual clue: list position. Specifically, certain recipients meetingcriteria appear before other recipients in the “To” list. (Conventionalmail clients typically display recipients in alphabetical order or inthe order the recipients were added to the list.) Therefore, even if thedisplay area is not large enough to show all recipients, a user canquickly see which recipients meet set criteria, without having to bringup a separate recipient list window which displays all recipients.

A messaging server 110 may facilitate messaging communications otherthan e-mail messages. As an example, a messaging server may facilitateteleconference communications using conference bridge capabilitiesprovided via the messaging server, as an example. To illustrate, in manycorporations, conference telephone calls may have 20, 30, 100s ofpeople. To join a conference, a user that is a member of an organizationmay be connected with the messaging server 110C over a telephone lineand enter a unique identifier associated with the user of theorganization (e.g., employee number) followed by a pound key to aninteractive voice response system of the messaging server 110C. This isdepicted in FIG. 14.

In FIG. 14, the user (Joe Carl) is prompted to enter a user ID (UID) tobe used to identify the user, as shown in the first block 1410. In block1420, the user is shown to enter the requested user ID (UID). The usermay also be asked to enter a pin code that is associated with theparticular conference that the user is wishing to join.

After commencement of the teleconference, a participant of theconference may therefore wonder whether someone from his or her team isparticipating in the conference and/or whether his or her boss is alsoparticipating in the conference. Therefore, in one exemplary embodiment,a recipient of the teleconference can enter a button or keyboardsequence such as *21, as an example, that is received by the messagingserver 110C, as demonstrated in block 1430. By entering the buttonsequence *21, the user is requesting for an audible highlighting of asubset of participants that meets user criteria. In response toreceiving the command, the messaging server 110C retrieves the criteriainformation stored for the user and obtains participant information froma directory database 160 (using the unique identifier (UID) previouslyprovided by each of the participants) to determine whether any ofparticipants match the user's criteria for highlighting. In thisexample, assume that the user has specified criteria for audiblyhighlighting a participant that is a team member of the user and thatthe user has two team members participating in the conference call.

The messaging server 110C may then “whisper” in a low tone, or someother mode of audible highlighting, to the user that team member GusWhite and supervisor Marvin Griffin are participating in the conference,as depicted in block 1440.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a process 1500 which amessaging server 110C, such as that having conferencing bridgecapabilities, uses to determine which audible cue to use when announcinga subset of participants in a conference call. This embodiment uses thedirectory database 160 which may reside in a messaging server 110C.

The process starts at block 1510, which begins an iteration loop appliedfor each entry in a list of participants in a conference call. At block1520, the directory database 160 is queried for information associatedwith the current entry in the participant list from a directory database160. The information associated with the current entry is compared(block 1530) with specified criteria to be met for highlighting entriesin the participant list.

If the current entry matches criteria (e.g., having an office inAtlanta) indicated by a user for highlighting the entry in theparticipant list, block 1540 announces the name associated with thecurrent entry that is associated with the criteria. If the current entrydoes not match criteria indicated by a user for highlighting the entryin the participant list, block 1350 does not announce the name. Note, ifa messaging client 120C has in addition to an audio speaker forrendering the teleconference audio a visual display of a messagingdevice, then some embodiments may encompass the displaying of names onthe visual display that match the user criteria.

In one exemplary embodiment, a messaging server 110 may facilitatemessaging communications other than e-mail messages and teleconferencecommunications. As an example, a messaging server 110D may facilitateelectronic chat communications with a messaging client 120D, asrepresented in FIG. 16. To join a particular chat session, a user mayconnect with a messaging server 110D using a messaging client 120D andenter a unique identifier (UID) associated with the user of theorganization (e.g., employee number). The user may also enter a sessionidentifier that is associated with the particular chat session that theuser is wishing to join. A participant of the session may thereforewonder whether someone from his or her team and/or whether his or herboss is also participating in the chat session. Therefore, in oneexemplary embodiment, a participant in the chat session can select anoption to request that a list of participants for the chat session bedistinguished in accordance with user criteria. In response to receivingthe command, the messaging server 110D retrieves the stored usercriteria and obtains participant information from a directory database160 (using the unique identifier previously provided by the user andother participants) to determine whether any participants match the usercriteria (e.g., fellow team members). The messaging server 110D may thendisplay a subset of participants on a chat interface 1600 that meets thecriteria specified by the user in a fashion that distinguishes thesubset from the remaining participants. In the example shown in FIG. 16,Kevin99887 is shown in a bold font indicating that he or she is a teammember of fellow participant Joe11334. Use of such techniques may beuseful for smartphones or similar devices which have a small real estate(e.g., small display area) to display a long list ofrecipients/participants.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a process 1700 which amessaging server 110D, such as that having electronic chat capabilities,uses to determine which visual cue to use when displaying a list ofparticipants in a chat session. This embodiment uses the directorydatabase 160 which may reside in a messaging server 110D.

The process starts at block 1710, which begins an iteration loop appliedfor each entry in a list of participants of a chat session. At block1720, the directory database 160 is queried for information associatedwith the current entry in the participant list from a directory database160. The information associated with the current entry is compared(block 1730) with specified criteria to be met for highlighting entriesin the participant list.

If the current entry matches criteria (e.g., having an office inAtlanta) indicated by a user for highlighting the entry in theparticipant list, block 1740 displays the name associated with thecurrent entry that is associated with the criteria using a visual cuethat distinguishes the name from other names in the list. If the currententry does not match criteria indicated by a user for highlighting theentry in the participant list, block 1350 does not highlight the name ina distinguishing fashion using the visual cue.

FIG. 18 is a hardware block diagram of a general-purpose computer 1800or computing device which can be used to implement various embodimentsof the messaging server 110. Computer 1800 contains a number ofcomponents that are well known in the art of contact center software,including a processor 1810, a network interface 1820, memory 1830, andstorage device 1840. Examples of storage device 1840 include, forexample, a hard disk, flash RAM, flash ROM, and EEPROM. These componentsare coupled via a bus 1850. Memory 1830 contains instructions which,when executed by the processor 1810, implement a systems and methods fordistinguishing names in a recipient list, such as the processes depictedin the diagrams of FIGS. 13, 15, and 17, which are represented bypersonalization engine instructions 1832 in memory 1830. Thepersonalization engine instructions may be located at a messaging server110B in one embodiment or a messaging client 120B in another embodiment,as discussed hereinbefore. Omitted from FIG. 18 are a number ofconventional components that are unnecessary to explain the operation ofcomputer 1800.

The systems and methods for rendering and distinguishing a list ofrecipients/participants of electronic communications disclosed hereincan be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the system and/or method is implemented in softwarethat is stored in a memory and that is executed by a suitablemicroprocessor situated in a computing device. However, the systems andmethods can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.Such instruction execution systems include any computer-based system,processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch and executethe instructions from the instruction execution system. In the contextof this disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means thatcan contain, store, communicate, or transport the program for use by, orin connection with, the instruction execution system. The computerreadable medium can be, for example but not limited to, a system ormedium that is based on electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor technology.

Specific examples of a computer-readable medium using electronictechnology would include (but are not limited to) the following: anelectrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires; a randomaccess memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory). A specific example usingmagnetic technology includes (but is not limited to) a portable computerdiskette. Specific examples using optical technology include (but arenot limited to): an optical fiber; and a portable compact disk read-onlymemory (CD-ROM). In addition, the functionality could be implemented inlogic embodied in hardware or software-configured media.

Any process descriptions or blocks in flowcharts should be understood asrepresenting modules, segments, or portions of code which include one ormore executable instructions for implementing specific logical functionsor steps in the process. As would be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art of the software development, alternate implementationsare also included within the scope of the disclosure. In these alternateimplementations, functions may be executed out of order from that shownor discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order,depending on the functionality involved.

The foregoing description has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obviousmodifications or variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The implementations discussed, however, were chosen anddescribed to illustrate the principles of the disclosure and itspractical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the artto utilize the disclosure in various implementations and with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All suchmodifications and variation are within the scope of the disclosure asdetermined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance withthe breadth to which they are fairly and legally entitled.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for formatting recipient identifiers in anelectronic communication, the method comprising: identifying, by amessaging server, a subset of recipients in a list of recipients of theelectronic communication based on criteria specified by a user; andformatting recipient identifiers associated with the subset ofrecipients for display in a style defined by the user, wherein the styledefined by the user is different from styles used to format recipientidentifiers of recipients not associated with the subset of recipients.22. The method of claim 21 wherein the criteria specified by the userindicates that team members of the user are to be included in the subsetof recipients.
 23. The method of claim 21 wherein the criteria specifiedby the user indicates that users in a chain of command including theuser are to be included in the subset of recipients.
 24. The method ofclaim 21 wherein the identifying comprises: comparing recipientinformation to the criteria specified by the user, wherein the recipientinformation is retrieved from data field entries of a directory databaseand the criteria specified by the user is retrieved from a centralnetwork server.
 25. The method of claim 21 wherein the user is one ofthe recipients in the list of recipients.
 26. The method of claim 21further comprising: rendering recipient identifiers of the subset ofrecipients in the style defined by the user.
 27. The method of claim 21wherein the electronic communication comprises one of an e-mailcommunication, a teleconference, and an electronic chat exchange.
 28. Anapparatus for formatting recipient identifiers in an electroniccommunication, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory tostore computer program instructions, the computer program instructionswhen executed on the processor cause the processor to perform operationscomprising: identifying a subset of recipients in a list of recipientsof the electronic communication based on criteria specified by a user;and formatting recipient identifiers associated with the subset ofrecipients for display in a style defined by the user, wherein the styledefined by the user is different from styles used to format recipientidentifiers of recipients not associated with the subset of recipients.29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the criteria specified by the userindicates that team members of the user are to be included in the subsetof recipients.
 30. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the criteriaspecified by the user indicates that users in a chain of commandincluding the user are to be included in the subset of recipients. 31.The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the identifying comprises: comparingrecipient information to the criteria specified by the user, wherein therecipient information is retrieved from data field entries of adirectory database and the criteria specified by the user is retrievedfrom a central network server.
 32. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein theuser is one of the recipients in the list of recipients.
 33. Theapparatus of claim 28, the operations further comprising: renderingrecipient identifiers of the subset of recipients in the style definedby the user.
 34. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the electroniccommunication comprises one of an e-mail communication, ateleconference, and an electronic chat exchange.
 35. A computer readablemedium storing computer program instructions for formatting recipientidentifiers in an electronic communication, which, when executed on aprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:identifying, by a messaging server, a subset of recipients in a list ofrecipients of the electronic communication based on criteria specifiedby a user; and formatting recipient identifiers associated with thesubset of recipients for display in a style defined by the user, whereinthe style defined by the user is different from styles used to formatrecipient identifiers of recipients not associated with the subset ofrecipients.
 36. The computer readable medium of claim 35 wherein thecriteria specified by the user indicates that team members of the userare to be included in the subset of recipients.
 37. The computerreadable medium of claim 35 wherein the criteria specified by the userindicates that users in a chain of command including the user are to beincluded in the subset of recipients.
 38. The computer readable mediumof claim 35 wherein the identifying comprises: comparing recipientinformation to the criteria specified by the user, wherein the recipientinformation is retrieved from data field entries of a directory databaseand the criteria specified by the user is retrieved from a centralnetwork server.
 39. The computer readable medium of claim 35 wherein theuser is one of the recipients in the list of recipients.
 40. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 35, the operations further comprising:rendering recipient identifiers of the subset of recipients in the styledefined by the user.